"Peace? Priceless!"
Philippians 4:4-13
A young white man, barely out of his teens, becomes obsessed with anti-black, white supremacy websites on the internet.
And although, some of the people he hangs out with and even considers friends are African American, he walks into a Bible study and shoots 9 people for no reason other than the color of their skin and that he wants to start a "race war."
We watch the news and scenes of bloody conflicts fill the screen.
Locally, shootings are often the top stories of the day.
On news shows, people with differing views on political and religious issues scream at and talk over one another.
On a personal level, another loved one has been diagnosed with cancer.
A high school classmate has passed away.
A family member is living with a life-threatening condition.
On t-v sitcoms, what passes as comedy are crude jokes and put-downs.
The popular music, aimed primarily at an audience of children ages 9-19 contains graphic lyrics having to do with unrealistic sexual references, drugs and violence.
Children's minds are being filled with garbage!!!
Reality T-V Shows portray fake people living fake lives.
We inadvertently cut someone off in traffic and the person in the other car passes us with angry looks and gestures.
We see people walking down our streets talking to themselves and living out of dumpsters.
We know children whose mothers and fathers are hooked on drugs and don't seem to care much about the future.
Pregnant mothers smoke cigarettes, while their babies go hungry.
Fathers are absent.
Church attendance is in decline.
And the churches which seem to get the attention of the world have a seemingly unbiblical, un-Christlike worldview.
The pastors get rich at the congregation's expense.
The love and grace of the Gospel is replaced by legalism, judgmentalism, self-righteousness and fear.
Social justice is ignored while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
This is all completely insane!!!!!!!
Are we doomed?
Is it possible to be sane in such an insane world????!!!!
When Paul wrote the Letter to the Philippians he was living in a Roman prison.
He was to appear in court soon to face the charges against him, and the verdict could lead to his execution.
The church he was writing to was undergoing a lot of persecution and having all kinds of difficulties.
So, Paul, from prison, writes a letter of encouragement to them.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Paul writes.
"Let your gentleness be evident to all...Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Peace--true peace--that can rejoice even in a Roman jail cell as one awaits the possibility of execution...
...what would people pay for this?
A "peace" that "transcends all understanding" and keeps our "hearts and minds safe" even amidst the greatest torment--the worst this world can throw at us...
...how much is that worth?
...millions, billions, trillions?
But it can't be bought.
It is, in the truest sense, priceless!!!
Could this be the reason Jesus Himself compared it, in Matthew Chapter 13 to: "a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up.
Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field."?
Or, again, Jesus said it's like: "a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it."
It's worth everything we have, is it not?
One day a rich young man came to Jesus, in search of this peace.
He asked Jesus what he must do to receive it.
Jesus' answer: "Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor.
Then you will have treasure in heaven.
And come, follow me."
But, when the rich young man heard these words: "he became very sad because he was extremely rich."
And so he left...
...sad...
...but rich.
How many us, in a rich country like the United States, find ourselves in a situation like the rich young man?
What has its grip upon you?
Is it Jesus only or is there something else holding you down--keeping you from the peace which transcends all understanding?
It's really important to remember that Philippians wasn't written to or by persons living on "Easy Street."
It was written by a man who had been stripped of everything in this world that we human beings naturally want...
...and it was written to a handful of people defending a new faith against a hostile ruling class.
But the promise of this Scripture is the same in all times: when we are finally stripped of self there comes to us from God a life that is a joy to live--it carries with it a satisfaction and a peace that are "out of this world."
The peace that this world talks about is deliverance from problems.
The peace of God comes from losing ourselves in love for God and others no matter what we are facing.
Have you experienced this peace?
Do you have this peace?...
...or is a preoccupation with self keeping you from experiencing the kingdom?
Paul was at peace.
He had no idea what he would be facing tomorrow, but he knew he wouldn't face it alone.
By relying on Christ and Christ alone, Paul found that peace isn't about what's going on around us.
Just as you can be lonely in a crowd of people, you can feel anxious and afraid in the most safe of places.
Likewise, you can have a sense of calm, no matter how fierce the storms or frightening the situation.
It's not surroundings that make us secure...
...it's not money...
...it's not material stuff...
...it's the sure and certain knowledge that whatever might happen, God will never let us go.
And that is "the peace that trancends all understanding."
One of the most comforting passages of Scripture can be found in Psalm 23.
Many of us probably know it by heart.
“The Lord is my, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
I have been asked to read this Psalm at just about every funeral I have ever done.
It is comforting.
It brings peace.
What images come to your mind when you think of green pastures?
Do you think of a wide-open field full of tall lush grass, perhaps some flowers and a few trees?
Kind of like that field at the beginning of the old show “Little House on the Prairie” that the kids and the dog run through?
I often do.
But that’s not what the psalm is describing.
In the areas around Jerusalem the hillsides are mainly dirt and sand.
There’s not a lot of lush, green grass.
All you find are a bunch of rocks with a sprig of grass popping up here and there.
In the Promise Land there are times of the year when it rains and times when it is pretty dry.
Psalm 23 is referring to those dry seasons, not just in the environment but in our lives.
In Israel, when the West wind blows its humidity against the hillsides it leaves a little bit of moisture on the cool rocks.
That little bit of moisture, along with the meager 23 inches of rain Jerusalem gets each year is just enough to grow little sprigs of grass here and there on the hillsides.
It’s not a lot of grass.
But it’s enough for sheep to take a bite and then move on and take another little bite.
The shepherd leads the sheep through the little sprigs until each sheep has had enough to eat.
This is how God shepherds us.
He doesn’t lead us to lush green cattle pastures where we have everything in abundance.
God leads us along the right paths through the little sprigs, giving us just enough for today.
He does the same the next day.
In doing this, we learn to trust in Him.
And so we find that the Promise Land is not about opulence, it’s about a place of complete dependence on God.
And when we learn day by day, year by year to completely depend on God we are given the peace which transcends all understanding, and the joy that makes no worldly sense.
And so, even as the world swirls in turmoil and there is nothing but negativity on t-v--you can have peace.
As terrorists plot their next move, and prepare to attack their next target--you can have peace.
As haters continue to hate; the storms can be still.
You can experience the victory of Christ.
You see, we can't buy peace.
It isn't going to come about through tanks, guns and the arms race.
It is, indeed, priceless.
It's not even on the market.
And that's because it's already been bought.
It was bought on the Cross by God Himself when Jesus shed His own blood for you and me.
Peace is complete trust in God at all times; in all places—no matter what.
And that’s what I want more than anything.
How about you?
